Do this consistently and you'll see a clear pattern (not a rule, there are always exceptions in the film industry):
- Indie productions tend to have higher ratings (15/18)
- big 5, studio productions tend to veer lower (12/15 and lower)
There is an argument that this is partly down to bias towards the conglomerates by the BBFC + MPAA, which, after all, are industry bodies. The contrasting decisions on This is England and Sweet Sixteen compared to Dark Knight and World's End are quite telling. The BBFC has some useful detail on their website on all movies they've rated, but also case studies ... including 2 of those...
You can find out a lot more by using my mediareg blog, especially using the BBFC tag (same for my cinema blog, or using individual movie tags such World's End)
 |
| There's a LOT on my mediareg blog... |
What would your 'POSSIBLE INFLUENCES' be from this?
You should simply reflect on your likely rating as an Indie producer:
- set out your intended rating, and break this down with detail of the BBFC guidelines on 12/15/18
- 12 is likely to be restrictive in terms of content you can feature
- 18 is likely to dramatically limit your potential audience, assuming your primary target audience is 15-24+
- you should also reflect on the impact of digitisation though: 'underage' viewing is likely to be significant, especially beyond the cinema (but including some there too - is YOUR experience that cinemas are STRICT in TIGHTLY enforcing age limits?
- provide multiple examples that help indicate this is a realistic rating to aim for - but also others that show that there is variety in this (12s, 18s). You could always do a basic global box office comparison to evidence the impact of 18 ratings
As well as the very useful BBFC entries, IMDB has a 'parental guide' section (its UGC) which often gives multiple international age ratings and (user) guidance on age-sensitive content.
 |
| BBFC detail |
 |
| IMDB user-generated guide |
